Miniature golf is returning to City Park

After an absence of more than two decades, miniature golf is returning to City Park. Construction is scheduled to begin by mid-July on a pair of 18-hole courses that will occupy a vacant 2.5-acre tract along Victory Avenue across from Storyland and the popular children's amusement park. Park officials plan to debut the nearly $2 million project in the spring of 2013.

View full sizeArchitectural renderingTwo 18-hole miniature golf courses will be constructed along Victory Avenue across from Storyland and the popular children's amusement park.

Unlike most other developments in the park that have relied on one or more major sources of revenue, the new attraction is being financed through a tiered system of donations, starting with a host of private donors who have agreed to sponsor individual holes.

The park has pledges of $25,000 for 32 of the 36 holes from individuals and local companies. While some contributors provided the money up front, others will take up to five years to pay. Sponsors include Bayou Tree Service, Cox Communications, Dots Diner, Iberia Bank, Capital One Bank, Hogs For the Cause and restaurateur Dickie Brennan.

The two courses will be built by Durr Heavy Construction of Harahan, which signed a $1.1 million contract with the park last week.

One of the courses will have a New Orleans theme and the other will pay homage to Louisiana. Both will feature extensive landscaping and water features.

The park is seeking construction bids for a clubhouse. Along with a ticket office, the structure, which has an estimated price tag of more than $800,000, will feature a snack area, restrooms and two party rooms. The complex will include parking for about 100 vehicles.

John Hopper, the park's director of development, said mini golf will offer another entertainment option for families, particularly teens who have out-grown Storyland and the amusement park.

Hopper said a gift from a local foundation that has requested anonymity will allow the park to make both courses handicap-accessible.

In addition to the $25,000 sponsors, the park has received a $250,000 commitment from the Stanley W. Ray Jr. Trust to sponsor one of the courses and hopes to forge a similar agreement for the other course. The park also is looking for a major donor willing to put up $500,000 to sponsor the entire complex.

The site was formerly home to tennis courts, and later, trailers that served as the park's administrative offices after Hurricane Katrina destroyed its headquarters.

This will be the third time the park has offered miniature golf. A course opened in the 1920s, and another debuted along Marconi Drive in 1967. That attraction closed more than 20 years ago.

While work on the new courses has not begun, construction is in full swing on the park's $4 million Festival Grounds, which will stretch along Wisner Boulevard north of Christian Brothers School toward Interstate 610. The 50-acre site, set to open in 2013, will become the home of the annual Voodoo Music Experience and, park officials hope, other music and cultural events.

Meanwhile, architects have prepared a pair of options for the layout of a splash park proposed for an 8.5-acre site north of the Roosevelt Mall running track, just south of the railroad tracks. Park managers hope to break ground on that project by year's end and open it in late 2013.

Originally, planners said a splash park would be placed on the park's western boundary near Marconi Drive bounded by Victory and Dreyfous avenues. But space and parking concerns prompted officials to move the project.

A $5 million appropriation for the splash park was approved by the state Bond Commission last fall. The state has already made $500,000 available for design, and officials expect the balance of the allocation later this year.

While the design is a work in progress, planners say the splash park will likely contain wading areas and spray features such as water cannons and buckets that dump water on patrons. Admission fees have not yet been determined. The facility will include an entrance building with changing rooms, showers and restrooms.